We Are Gathered Here Together is rooted in occasion and ceremony; from the dates we were born and the celebration of marriage, to the day we die. The exhibition, which presents brand new work alongside some of the artist’s most popular pieces, takes visitors on a journey through these “special occasional days”.
Lindezey has explored the use of digital technologies at The Making Rooms, allowing him to create work on a larger scale and at greater speed. Though aided by machinery, the work remains highly personal and hand-making features throughout, with elements also worked by hand at the Venture Arts studio.
Conversation forms a central part of Lindezey’s practice, and has remained so throughout this residency. From those he’s chatted with passing through The Making Rooms, to his journeys from Manchester to Blackburn on the train, the people he’s met have shaped the work.
If you were fortunate enough to meet Horace, he might have asked for your birthdate and shared the number one song from that day. These dates were later turned into an illustrated wallpaper, which was featured in his exhibition during the Festival Weekend.
You can now explore this unique playlist on Spotify.
Working with Horace and Venture arts has been an absolute delight. It has been wonderful seeing the idea come to fruition and having the opportunity to play a part in this. I can’t wait to see all the elements come together in the final exhibition and I’m certain it will wow the audience as much as Horace will charm them.
Split into three parts, one area of the exhibition focuses on ‘births’, with a list of the names of people he has interacted with, the year they were born, and an iconic song released that year – specific knowledge Lindezey holds. In ‘marriages’, a huge wedding table is set for 24 iconic guests, inspired by Lindezey’s fond memories of watching TV. Finally, in a space representing the experience of a funeral ceremony, approximately 60 of the artist’s iconic blue plaques can be found in a reflective space – whilst in stark contrast to the rest of the show, the pieces remain witty and engaging.
You are invited to enter Lindezey’s world, through music, personal expressions, and his unique perspective on connecting people, time and place.
I have enjoyed meeting new people and getting the train to Blackburn, I can’t wait to go back.
This residency has been supported by Caroline Tattersall, Venture Arts Ceramics Facilitator and Artist Support and Kim Stuttard, Creative Alliance Intern at The Making Rooms.
With thanks to: Jacenta Sellars, Ali Ellis, Laura Nathan and Louisa Hammond from Venture Arts; Clay Studios for donating studio and kiln hire; Mollies contemporary art collection for loaning 8 blue plaques; Wedgewood Ceramics for donating bisque fired plates; Torrecid for donating glazes and everyone who took part in porcelain flower making workshops.
The Artist
Horace Lindezey has been a practising artist and maker at Venture Arts in Manchester for over 30 years, working predominantly in ceramics and textiles. After exhibiting in the 2023 National Festival of Making in the group show, YESS LAD, Lindezey, was commissioned to return this year with his first solo exhibition.
The Manufacturer
The Making Rooms is a place where creativity, technology and advanced manufacturing come together in a community facility for use by artists, inventors, students, children and just about everyone else to design and make anything from high-tech products and gadgets to toys, artworks, home decorations and accessibility devices.
Venture Arts
Venture Arts is an award-winning visual arts organisation in Manchester, working with learning disabled artists. Through their studio programmes, exhibitions and collaborative projects, they remove barriers to the arts. They put artists in the lead; they champion neurodiversity and provide pathways for every individual to develop their creative identity.
Photography by Emma Colbert-Mooring, Danny Allison, Jules Lister, Rachel Bywater and Robin Zahler
